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7 comments on “Stand Out in a Crowd”

Or Mistress of Moving? Since I think I may go with experimenting with the new niche of – working with mothers of young children who have relocated from out of state. Not sure how to package that in a neat little pitch yet! It’s quite a mouthful!!!

My goal is to support mothers in the emotional aspect of moving. There are plenty of people out there who take care of the logistical piece. I’m more interested in working with their inner world and supporting them in building resiliency and ease in the face of the emotional rollercoaster ride of relocating and feeling a sense of belonging in their new community. Ultimately, having them feel at home with themselves…something like “Home is where you are.”

Mistress has negative connotations whether you’re going after the corporate or family market.

You could be the Moving Maven.

Though I’m not sure you want to mention the move itself. Your niche is interesting, because you don’t take care of the move. You don’t coordinate the move. In fact, you don’t really have anything to do with the actual move.

As you surmise, while you provide emotional help and support, I think that’s your secret sauce, not the reason people will approach you in the first place.

How about “Family Relocation Specialist.” That doesn’t tie you to the move itself: it gives you an in both before and after the move (i.e. they anticipate an issue, or they have moved and now they realize that they need some help).

Also, many larger corporations have resources for employees that they move so that could be an interesting opportunity for you as well…

Would calling myself the Mistress of Mindfullness OR the Mistress of Self Mastery work? Not sure how “Mistress” would be taken by folks… I am focusing on working with mothers right now, so it’s not for a corporate audience.

And to Andy Saks – I’m curious to know how he came up with Chief Sparkler. What does that mean to him? What does he deliver?

Not everyone likes this title, some think it’s too frivolous for the business world and even a little, um, not heterosexual (woman last week at a seminar I gave said “If I hadn’t seen your wedding ring, I’d have thought you’re gay.”)

But most do like it and get the idea, and EVERYONE who sees my card comments on the title, so I figure that on balance, making it memorable to everyone is worth the risk of not everyone liking it. And putting some fun into the corporate world is the philosophy behind my approach, so if they don’t like the title, they probably won’t like what I deliver.

Thanks for the response! You raise some important issues for anyone who is thinking about their title.

It’s good that everyone comments on your title. You didn’t mention specifically what comments you get, and that’s the key to framing this discussion. If they have leads for your trade show work or your presentations coaching, then it’s working just fine. If they smile and say “clever” or “neat title” or ask clarifying questions, it’s creating lots of activity for maybe not as many results as you could get with a different approach.

My main concern with your title is that it requires a leap of thinking to figure out what you do, and you’re missing opportunities because prospects can’t immediately see themselves as a good lead for you. I see better results with pragmatic titles. It can still be fun to say and get people smiling. You could be the “Standing Ovations Specialist” or “Trade Booth Barista.”

Since you’re thinking about it anyway, you have nothing to lose by trying out 3 new titles between now and the end of the year. Your title is only as good as your prospect’s response to it, so pay particular attention to the questions that people ask and the conversations that start. You may find that “Chief Sparkler” works better than anything else, and you may find a new title that starts better conversations.

Thank you as always for your kind comments. I am grateful that you and so many others find value in my message.

I encourage you not to think too hard about your title. It doesn’t have to be the perfect representation of you. You just want something easy and fun to say that’s a little bit different so it catches people’s attention. Based on the work you’ve done in my coaching program, I’d recommend “The Relationship Whisperer” or “The Marriage Fixer-Upper” or even “The Caffeine of Confidence.”

Unless one of those really resonates, a useful exercise is to sit down with a pen and a piece of paper. Write down your current title, then quickly write down 20 more titles. Don’t judge any of them yet. Just write down everything that comes to mind. Then come back a few minutes later and read what you’ve written. You’ll be drawn to one of them and that’s the one to try out first.

The truth about business networking is that your title is only as good as the response you get from people when you use it. So whatever you come up with, try it for a few weeks, paying attention to the questions that people ask and the conversations that start. Feel free to post your results and we can take it from there.